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This year, the Rhode Island Natural History Survey’s annual ecology conference is focused on emerging threats to amphibians in New England and potential management responses. Experts in chytrid fungus and ranavirus have been invited to discuss the biology and potential ecological impact of these water-borne pathogens, monitoring strategies, and potential management responses. At the end of the conference, a moderated discussion will focus on ways to continue the investigation of the situation in Rhode Island and on possible management responses.

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has caused population declines and extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South America, eastern Australia, and the Caribbean. Preliminary results of a recent chytrid fungus survey in Rhode Island, sponsored by Roger Williams Park Zoo, documented a widespread, uneven distribution of this globally significant pathogen. Ranavirus, another emerging infectious disease, is also present in isolated wetlands throughout New England and has been implicated in recent catastrophic mortality events.

Keynote Speaker: Edgardo Griffith, Herpetologist and Director of the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, Panama. No one is more experienced with the chytrid devastation or responded to it better than Griffith. His initiatives have been featured in National Geographic and promoted by David Attenborough and Jane Goodall, among others.

Researchers and wildlife managers working on threats to amphibians in New England including pathogens, polluted run-off, habitat loss/fragmentation, and climate change are invited to offer papers for presentation in oral or poster form. The organizers are particularly interested in hearing from researchers working on chytrid, ranavirus, or other pathologies or able to place emerging pathogens among other threats to amphibian conservation in southern New England. Student submissions are encouraged.

Abstracts should be less than 200 words, text only (no tables/graphs), left justified, arranged as follows:
Author(s), Affiliation(s), address, e-mail, phone number
(Skip a line)
Body of abstract

Submit abstracts electronically, attached as a Word file to: abstract@rinhs.org with preference for an “oral presentation” or “poster presentation” indicated in the subject field.

The submission deadline is 5 p.m., Monday, March 1, 2010. All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the RINHS Program Committee. If more oral presentations are requested than the schedule allows, the committee may ask presenters to consider poster presentations instead. All presenters must register for the conference.

The conference is sponsored by Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Roger Williams Park Zoo, University of Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources Science, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Display space and additional sponsorship opportunities are available, contact RINHS.

RINHS conferences are widely regarded for convening a broad spectrum of people sharing a curiosity about southern New England’s animals, plants, geology, and ecosystems. They are excellent venues for researchers and organizations to showcase what they do in a collegial environment. For information on past RINHS conferences, including abstracts, visit our conference page.